While MLS will mull over 12 expansion bids in the coming months, SportsBusiness Journal’s Ian Thomas reached out to four soccer experts to see which cities they think will land the next four franchises in the league.
Charlie Stillitano
Co-founder and chairman of Relevent Sports, organizer of the International Champions Cup
› Charlotte: Huge success with our ICC matches.
› St. Louis: One of the cradles of soccer in the U.S.
› Tampa/St. Petersburg: Original NASL team, they are primed for a natural rivalry with new Southeast teams.
› Sacramento: Great location and attendance records.
John Guppy
Founder, Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing
› Sacramento: Bigger market than people realize. Pieces are in place and opportunity for MLS to be a big fish in a big pond.
› St. Louis: Bye-bye Rams, hello MLS. This great sports town has a void to fill, and another Midwest city would be huge for the league.
› San Diego: Strong media market, great demographics. MLS can dominate in California with five teams.
› Nashville: Wild card, yes. Work to be done, for sure. Smaller market, got it. But my gut tells me soccer could rock it in Music City.
David Downs
Sports executive; former executive director of the U.S. bid committee for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup
Market size has not proven to be a major factor in supporting an MLS team, as evidenced by the success of the Timbers in Portland, the 25th-largest U.S. TV market. Far more important appear to be factors such as 1) an existing successful minor league soccer team; 2) a downtown soccer-specific stadium; 3) a youthful market, with a high percentage of Hispanic Americans; and 4) low competition from alternative professional sports entertainment such as the NFL, the NBA and particularly MLB. Only
› Sacramento checks all the boxes, but in my opinion
› Indianapolis,
› Raleigh-Durham and
› San Antonio come the next closest to that profile.
David Wright
Chief marketing officer, Minor League Baseball; former Soccer United Marketing/MLS senior vice president of global sponsorship
› Sacramento: Outside of the recent ownership hiccup, appears to have all of the pieces in place and an inside track.
› San Diego: Late to the party; that said, could the Chargers’ recent departure open the door to global fútbol?
› St. Louis: One of the most iconic soccer markets in the U.S. With the right stadium solution, no question in my mind this market would thrive.
› Tampa/St. Petersburg: My new “hometown” club! Bill (Edwards) and his team have done a tremendous job of pulling all of the pieces together. Could be a special market and a far cry from the early 2000s (Tampa Bay Mutiny).
